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Politicisation
of food and other forms of Aid report
Zimbabwe
Peace Project
September 25, 2006
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Executive summary
Politicisation of food aid has been going on unabated in most
provinces and Manicaland is no exception. The chief perpetrators
of this form of violence are mostly Zanu PF supporters. The main
victims of politicisation of food and other aid were mainly members
of the opposition whose rights to access food aid were denied on
political grounds. The victims were either asked to produce a Zanu
PF card in order to benefit from food and agricultural inputs. In
some instances there were simply denied registration for aids and
were blatantly told that the food belonged to members of the ruling
party.
The politicisation of resources also
extends to the health arena where terminally ill person have been
denied medication on the basis that there are members of the opposition
or that they are relatives of persons belonging to the opposition.
The medication has been in the form of drugs, Anti-retroviral drugs,
anti-biotics and pain killers.
In one case on the 4th of
August 2006, KM of the MDC was denied assistance under FACT programme
by some FACT organisers supposedly because her husband was an MDC
supporter. The incidences reported in the month of August indicate
that in 83 (89%) incidences, Zanu PF sympathisers and supporters
were politicising aid while MDC was alleged to have perpetrated
10 (6%). Members of the opposition and sympathisers were constituted
the bulk of the victims in actual recorded incidences of politicisation
of food.
The plight of children particularly
orphans is worsened by the interference of party politics in the
distribution of resources particularly Orphans whose parents were
members of the opposition and widows whose husbands were supporters
of MDC are key victims where food aid and medication and support
are politicised.
Children are sometimes arbitrarily
withdrawn from the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) project
on the basis that their parents are supporter of the opposition
or where the parents are dead on the basis that their parents were
members of the opposition. The main perpetrators of this type of
violence are school heads who sympathise with the ruling party ideologies.
A case in point was in Buhera North
where it is alleged that CM of the opposition was called by the
headmaster of Garavaziva Primary School where he informed the victim
that the victim’s children were no longer beneficiaries of the Basic
Education Assistance Module (Beam) supposedly because of her political
affiliation. The complete disregard for children’s rights particularly
those of orphans is major drawback to the attainment of justice
in Zimbabwe.
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